On October 10, 2012, Morris County issued a Proclamation urging citizens to “celebrate, promote, support and participate in the many outstanding arts and cultural opportunities Morris County has to offer.” In support of that Proclamation, representatives from Morris County’s arts and cultural community gathered as the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders declared October to be Arts & Humanities Month in Morris County. The County’s Proclamation coordinates with National Arts and Humanities Month, a coast-to-coast collective celebration of culture in America organized every October by the national organization, Americans for the Arts, and comprising the largest annual celebration of the arts and humanities in the nation. From arts open houses to governmental proclamations, curtain speeches and special events, communities across theUnited States join together this month to recognize and celebrate the importance of the arts and culture in our daily lives.
Freeholder Director William Chegwidden presented the Proclamation to Tom Werder, Executive Director of the Arts Council, on behalf of the larger arts and humanities community in Morris County. In his remarks, Werder commented how much the arts contribute to the quality of life and to the vibrancy of our economy. He added, “The arts and humanities also transform lives. They enrich, inform, educate and empower us to reach for the best within us and they bring delight, comfort and healing.”
During October, the Arts Council of the Morris Area will be featuring the numerous cultural and arts events in Morris County on its website cultural calendar at www.morrisarts.org. Additionally, the Arts Council has made the Proclamation available for arts and cultural organizations to read or post in order to highlight the month and educate patrons about the arts in our communities. As the Proclamation states: “The arts help to foster discipline, creativity, imagination, self-expression and problem-solving skills while also helping to develop a heightened appreciation of beauty and cross-cultural understanding, while the humanities – history, literature, philosophy – help us explore what it means to be human.”
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Representative from Morris County arts/cultural community
Morris County Freeholders with Arts Council's Executive Director,Tom Werder,